Work Text
Caroline prided herself on being able to handle pretty much anything that her job at Aperture threw at her. Organizing piles of paperwork, making tests more efficient, calming down angry investors, keeping up with Cave’s nonstop stream of scattered ideas…Caroline was rather proud of herself to stay on top of things- which is why today, as she stared at the same sheet of paper for what had to be the tenth time without processing a single word of it, she knew that something was very wrong.No matter how hard she tried to focus, every sense of a coherent thought seemed just out of her grasp, as if the whole world had started going fuzzy around the edges, clouding her brain with static, almost as if she-
Oh no.
Caroline froze as she realized what was going on. Usually, when she was small, it was in the comfort and solitude of her own apartment, far away from where it could ever interfere with her work. She’d allow herself to drop a few times a month to make sure she could keep her stress levels down and her mind sharp, but as she started to think about it, she realized with horror that with her growing workload, the amount of times she’d either stayed late or worked things over at home until the crack of dawn to make sure everything was finished, it had been at least a month since she’d last been small- and now, it seemed that it was finally, forcibly, catching up to her.She couldn’t let herself be small, not right now, not in front of Cave Johnson- if he saw her, she’d risk losing the man’s trust, she’d risk losing her job, and she simply couldn’t allow that to happen; but no matter how hard she tried to pull herself out of that dazed, cloudy feeling, it only served to pull her in further, and she found herself growing more and more frustrated with herself. She felt tears prick the back of her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to try and will them away, but right now, all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry until the world stopped feeling so overwhelming, and once the tears started, Caroline couldn’t get them to stop.And as if things couldn’t get any worse, the door to her office swung open, and Cave Johnson himself walked in.Caroline froze, tears still slipping down her face as the man entered the room. “What’s got you so upset all of a sudden?” He frowned.Caroline shook her head, curling in tighter on herself, a small whine escaping her before she pressed a hand over her mouth, face red with shame. Cave watched her for a moment, still frowning, before something seemed to dawn on him."...Caroline?" Cave asked, slowly walking over to where she was sitting. "Are you... small right now?"Caroline wanted nothing more than to lie, to pull herself together and deny everything, but right now, everything felt so overwhelming, so big, that all she could do was bury her head in her hands and keep crying. Of course he'd known immediately; this was Cave, after all, a man known for being able to read people as easily as he breathed. He was certainly going to fire her after this; if she was lucky, he'd tell her to pack her things and get out and skip the part where he yelled loud enough for the whole hall to hear.
When he was silent for a little too long, she cautiously lifted her head to look at him, only to see him raising a hand- oh god, he was going to hit her, he was going to make sure she knew just how much of a letdown she was-But the blow never came, and the hand instead moved to gently cup the side of her face, brushing away a few of the tears. "Why didn't you say something, doll?"Ignoring any lingering thoughts of keeping any sense of professionalism, Caroline leaned into the touch, scrambling for the right words to say, but all that came out was a small, quiet, "...didn't wanna make you mad?""Come on, now, how could I ever be mad at my favorite girl?" Cave smiled, and Caroline couldn't help but feel a little more reassured by his familiar grin. “Do you think you can tell me what’s wrong, sweetheart?”Caroline tried to respond, but words refused to come out, causing more tears to well up in her eyes. Instead, she gestured to the piles of paperwork on her desk, and Cave nodded in understanding.“You get a little overwhelmed?” Cave asked, looking at her with sympathy as she nodded. “Well, I can’t have my girl working herself to death, can I?” His girl. At that, Caroline looked away, despite how her heart fluttered at the nickname. She’d seen Cave fire people for daring to take breaks when there was so much work to be done, and as his right hand, she certainly couldn’t afford to allow herself to slip into a state like this; and yet, Cave still didn’t seem to be the slightest bit upset with her, standing up suddenly and reaching out to offer her his hand. "Now, let's go!"Caroline stared up at him, still blinking away a few tears, still in complete disbelief that Cave seemed so... calm about all of this. "Go?""I’m not just gonna leave you in here all by yourself, am I?" Another one of his golden smiles had Caroline's heart pounding. "You're gonna come to my office and do science with me!"Caroline's eyes lit up, and she grabbed his hand as tightly as she could. "Together?""Mm-hm!" Cave nodded, leading her into his office, taking her over to his desk chair. Without warning, he scooped her up in his arms, and she couldn't help but let a delighted squeal escape her as he sat down, setting her in his lap. The desire to try and force her brain back to its usual capabilities, to run back to her own office and keep working, still lingered at the back of her mind, but the fact that she was sitting on Cave Johnson’s lap quickly overpowered any remaining sense of rationality.After wrapping an arm around her to keep her secure, he went right to work, scribbling down notes and ideas, signing various papers, making an occasional recording whenever a particularly fascinating thought struck him. He was never silent when he worked, always humming or muttering to himself, and between that, the way he kept one arm around her no matter what, and the gentle movement of his body as he got absorbed in his work, Caroline found herself being slowly lulled to sleep. Try as she may, she couldn't stop herself from slowly leaning closer until her head rested on his shoulder, her eyes slowly slipping closed until she finally drifted off.When Caroline woke up, she was laying down, a small pillow underneath her head and her upper body covered up by something warm. Her head still felt fuzzy, and everything around her still felt so big; but it didn't feel overwhelming anymore, it felt... comfortable. Safe.
Propping herself up slightly, she realized she was on the couch in Cave's office, his jacket draped carefully over her. He was still working, intently focused on muttering something about human-shark hybrids, but he paused as soon as he heard her stir, turning to give her a big smile.
"There's my girl!" He set down his pen and walked over to the couch, gently ruffling her hair. "Sorry for moving you, kiddo. Didn't want you waking up with a sore neck."Words still seemed to be a little too far out of Caroline's reach, but she grabbed the simplest ones she could find. "Did you do science?""'Course I did!" Cave grinned. "You wanna come see?"Caroline nodded eagerly, giggling as he picked her up once again, cradling her in his arms until he put her back in his lap, pulling out a few sheets of paper covered with a multitude of diagrams. "So, I've been thinking up some ways to improve the human heat resistance tests: if we simply double the amount of lasers and start focusing them in on a specific area..."Caroline stayed on Cave's lap for the rest of the evening, completely entranced, eagerly looking at every paper he showed her and listening to every word he said; her brain may have still been fuzzy to the point of most of what he was saying flying right over her head, but the simple fact that he was talking, that he was talking to her , was enough to make her feel like she was absolutely bursting with joy.
After a little while, Cave checked the time, eyebrows shooting up as he realized how late it was. "Well, kid, I gotta say, you make a dam- dang good listener, but I think it's time to turn in for the night...now, I can't have a little one like you driving back home all by herself, so what do you say to staying here for the night?"Caroline's eyes widened. She knew that Cave quite literally lived inside of Aperture, and she'd stayed in his lodgings with him a handful of times when they'd both worked themselves into the late hours of the night, but...was it really fair to intrude on him when she was in a state like this?Cave seemed to sense her hesitation, and started to run a hand through her hair. "You've still got a spare set of pajamas in there, yeah? You can get yourself all cozy in bed and get a good night's rest, and tomorrow, we'll both wake up bright and early and get right back to science! Whaddya say?"Deep down, Caroline wanted nothing more than to stay with him, to feel the overwhelming sense of safety from the mere fact that he was nearby, to let him tuck her in the way she'd thought about countless times over when she’d felt like this before, and well, she wasn't exactly in a proper state to push away her impulses. She finally nodded, earning herself another smile.
"That's my girl!" Cave beamed, leaning forward to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Now, you hold my hand tight, okay? Wouldn't want you getting lost in here at this hour!"The pair stood up, and Caroline obediently took his hand, allowing him to lead her through the unusually silent expanse of Aperture. Usually, when Caroline would walk around, she'd have to weave her way through a number of people in order to get where she needed to be, but now, it was empty enough for her to hear her own footsteps echo as she walked. In her current state, the surroundings felt more than a little imposing, and she moved herself a little closer to Cave as they walked, relaxing a little as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.Once they arrived at his lodgings, Cave pulled out Caroline's spare set of pajamas from one of the drawers in his bedroom- she'd started keeping the set there just in case of a late night, and tonight, she was more grateful for it than ever as she went into the bathroom and changed out of her dress, clumsily folding it with hands that didn't want to cooperate with the growing fuzziness that was starting to envelope her whole body. Just the simple act of putting on her pajamas seemed to leave her exhausted, and she quietly walked back into Cave's room to see the man getting ready for bed as well.
"Don't you look cozy!" Cave buttoned up his nightshirt, standing up to put an arm around Caroline's shoulders. "Ready for bed, sweetheart?"Caroline nodded, letting herself slump against him. His nightshirt was a peach-colored silk that was smooth to the touch as she rested her cheek against it, and he still smelled faintly of the cologne he'd applied that morning, along with a scent that...well, she couldn't quite place it, nor hope to describe it in her current state, but it smelled so completely and uniquely like Cave , and that was enough to make a feeling of comfort and safety wash over her. Unable to stifle a yawn, she nodded, her eyes already starting to droop closed. Before she knew it, she felt herself being lifted, and within moments, she'd fallen asleep before she could even think to ask where Cave was carrying her- all that mattered to her was that she was in his arms.Caroline woke up slowly that morning, clearing the remaining fuzz from her head as she stretched, not registering that she suddenly had significantly more room to do so, nor did she fully notice that her surroundings certainly weren’t what she was used to waking up in. Yawning, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed before she finally realized what was going on:This was most certainly not her bed. This was a bed made for two people, a bed that smelled of a familiar cologne, a bed that was in a room close enough to hear an unmistakable voice singing to himself from the kitchen.This was Cave Johnson's room. She was in Cave Johnson's bed.
A bed in which, judging by the divot in the opposite side of the bed, Cave Johnson must have slept last night.For a moment, her heart started to race. To any outside eye, this certainly looked like cause for a scandal- what had happened last night? She couldn't remember ever entering Cave's bedroom, the last thing she remembered about last night was-Oh.
Oh.
Caroline’s cheeks started to burn as she remembered exactly what happened yesterday; how Cave had found her crying in her office, how she’d spent most of the day sitting in his lap, how he’d taken her home and quite literally carried her to bed. There was no way to spin this in her favor- after such a debacle, Cave would surely drive her out of Aperture for good, and even if he didn't, her own embarrassment certainly would.Shakily, she stepped out of the bed- Cave's bed-, retrieving her dress from where she'd left it in the bathroom and putting it back on. It was a little wrinkled, and maybe a few people would notice that she'd be wearing the same thing two days in a row, but right now, that was the least of her worries. Right now, she had to find a way to look her boss in the eye after the scene she'd caused.Taking in a deep breath and steeling herself as much as she could, Caroline stepped out of the bedroom to find Cave still in his pajamas, humming as he poured himself what looked to be at least his second cup of coffee for the morning. She expected his mood to sour as soon as he saw her, but instead, his eyes lit up, and he smiled at her, grabbing a second mug from one of the cabinets and filling it up with coffee. She watched as he dumped in a heaping spoonful of sugar and the slightest splash of milk- exactly the way she liked it."Mornin', Caroline!" He beamed, handing her the mug which she took with shaking hands. "Sleep well last night?"Yes, she certainly did, and in fact, it was one of the most restful sleeps Caroline could ever remember having, but she only gave a small nod in response, sitting down at the kitchen table so her nerves didn't knock her over completely. Cave sat down across from her, still smiling, but it faded as he took in her expression. Sighing, he leaned forward slightly, looking her right in the eye, taking a sip of his coffee before speaking.“Caroline?” Cave looked at her with a seriousness she’d rarely seen directed towards her. “We need to talk about what happened yesterday.”Caroline felt her heart drop. “O-of course, Mr. Johnson.” This was it for sure- she’d overstepped too many boundaries, she’d let herself get far too comfortable with the man who was first and foremost her boss, not someone to use as a pillar of comfort. “I’m so, so sorry, I’m not sure just what got into me, and-”“No, no, none of that,” Cave shook his head. “I’m not looking for apologies, just an explanation. Tell me why it happened.”“I…” Caroline sighed, looking down. “I was overwhelmed, sir. I don’t know exactly when it started, but at some point, everything felt so…so big, and my head felt so cloudy, I…I couldn’t keep up with it all.” She could feel tears starting to form, but she blinked them away, refusing to cry in front of him again. “I completely understand if you want to fire me after that whole ordeal.”“Fire you? And lose the best damn assistant I’ve ever had?” Cave leaned forward slightly, snapping his fingers once to get her to look back up. “After all you’ve done for Aperture- hell, all you’ve done for me, I’d say you’ve more than earned the right to take a break when you need it. You start feeling like that again, feel free to tell me; my office couch is always open if you need to rest for a while until you can work again. I could get a proper blanket for you to cover up with, maybe a nice teddy for you to hold onto, a couple of toys to keep you entertained…” He was rambling now, his eyes lighting up the way they did whenever he had an idea forming…was he actually excited about the idea of this happening again?“...a-are you sure about this, Mr. Johnson?” Caroline asked timidly. It had to be too good to be true, but-Cave only beamed at her, reaching across the table to take her hand. “Never been more sure of anything in my life. You start feeling small like that again and you come right over and get me, okay? I promise I’ll take good care of ya.”Caroline couldn’t help but smile back. As long as she had Cave, everything was going to be just fine.